Material receiving, storing, and discharging apparatus



May 5,, 1953 A. BARRETT 2,637,457

MATERIAL RECEIVING, STORING, AND DISCHARGING APPARATUS Filed July 9, 1948 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET l A. L. BARRETT 2,637,457

, AND DISCHARGING APPARATUS May 5, 1953 MATERIAL RECEIVING, STORING 2 saws-4mm 2 Filed July 9, 1948 1720a 72%?- 177,72 w'leefia Trad Patented May 5, 1953 MATERIAL RECEIVING, STORING,"AND DISCEMRGENG APPARATUS Arthur Lee Barrett, Franklin, Pa, assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, lia., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 9, 1948, Serial No. 37,943

11 Claim". (01. ere-sass? My invention relates to material receiving, storing and discharging apparatus, and more particularly to such apparatus especially adapted for use with Continuous Miners or similar vein disintegrating: and material delivering apparatus.

The introduction of the Continuous Miner has presented a new problem in material handling to the mining industry. Bands of mineral such as coal, of substantial width, height depth, are disintegrated and loaded out and delivered to a delivery point by these Miners" in rapid succession and in periods of a fraction of a minute, so that a face of a height of say six feet, and a horizontal arcuate extent of twelve feet, can be disintegrated to a depth of on the order of eighteen inches and have its disintegrated material discharged from the ap paratus in a matter of less than three minutes;

, and the apparatus can be repositioned for the reduced It will thus be appreciated that, with the relati continuous and very rapid disintegration a vein and delivery or material, the effective and adequate carrying away of the material is a major problem. It is possible to use with lt'i ners, belt or shaker conveyor arrangerocnts, but the necessity for elongation or extension of thesedevices as the Miners advance when working in rooms or entries at times involves a shut down which would be Wholly unnecessary from the standpoint of the opera tion of the Miner itself. The use of shuttle cars in conjunction with Continuous Miners is a highly desirable procedure, but ii, without the employment of a storage hopper of some variety, one shuttle car is to receive a load and then withdraw and have its place taken by an other shuttle car, there is, if a load is to be supdirectly from the Miner, both an inefficient use of equipment, since the loading period minutes, whereas the car could be loaded much morerapidly if it could be charged from an accumulated supply of material; and, moreover, during the moving away of one car from the loading end of the "Miner and the movement of another, shuttle car into load receiving relationship to the Miner a shut down of the Miner would be necessary to prevent the discharge of a considerable massof material onto the mine floor. The use of a shuttle car of standard construction traveling along in step with and in load receiving relation to a Miner and discharging to one or more other shuttle cars which actually transport the disintegrated material from the car acting as a hopper to some desired point of delivery as, for example, a loading station associated with a belt conveyor, fails of satisfactory solution of the problem because as, a full load is moved out of the shuttle car ata relatively rapid rate (unloading canbe effected in one-half to three-quarters of a minute), there will be, if the Miner continues to operate, a fairly thin but by no means ignorable load of disintegrated material spread through the length of the shuttle car while the main load is being discharged, and this relatively thin layer will be dumped on the mine floor while the shuttle car which is being used as a hopper is subsequently receiving a full load. It is therefore important that there shall be provided, for the satisfactory solution of the problem, not only means for receiving over a period measured in minutes a full load directly from a Continuous Miner or the like, and for discharging the load in a comparatively small fraction of the time required for the reception of the load-discharge of the load being, say, to a mine car or preferably to a shuttle car-but there must be in addition some arrangement whereby there will not be spread through the length of the car serving as a hopper a layer of material while the main load is being discharged, which layer of material will be later, during the next loading of the car serving as a hopper, dumped on the mine bottom.

An effective mode of accomplishing this third and very important function is provided by my invention, and very satisfactory results may be accomplished, in a preferred form of the invention, by the modification of the material distributing and unloading means which forms a portion of a shuttle car-like structure utilized as a hopper so that while portions thereoi may function to unload material from the receiver or hopper body, there shall be no significant movement of material by other portions of such moving means. Preferably, this may be accomplished, when a flight type conveyor m employed, by the omission of a number of consecutive flights; so that, say, in a preferred arrangement, over a length approximately equal to the distance from the discharge end of the apparatus back to apointsolooated thatloadingmay take, place thereon without; the necessity for. lfifilS-r tribution of the load, there shall be no flights present. The remainder of the flight conveyor may be of conventional construction.

It will be appreciated, however, thatthis pre ferred embodiment is but illustrative, of variousmeans for providing for materialmovomentby devices which include in a circulat ngicndless;

loop, as it were, portions which may move with; out imparting substantial movemcntto, material, and other portions whose movement-inengagement with material moves the latter, the relative lengths of the difierent portions determined to enable. the-reception and". distribution of a load and the unloading thereof without spreading material received. during discharge in, such. a. manner. as to causeit to. be dumpediasa. new load isreceived.

An object ofv the invention is to, provide. an improved material receiving, storing and. dis charging apparatus. sov constructed. and arrange that the distributionofja layer of.'material.over the bottom thereof during, the. unloadingtherefrom of an accumulatedloadmay-be. prevented. Another obiectof. the. invention is to provide, an improved material. receiving,v storing and. discharging apparatus having. improved means for distributing thev material received. thereby during loading thereof throughout. its length. for unloading the material rapidly when it is desired to discharge it, andfor, at; thesame time, pre venting,materialwhichmay continue to be. dolive "ed to. one; end of the. apparatus; from being spread throughout its. length durin the. unloading; of .the load therefrom. A. further object, of. theinvention, is. to prcvidean improved materialreceiving, storing and discharging apparatus having improved materialehandlingg apparatus associated, therewith. whereby material. may. be moved from, oneportion thercofior, discharge while material delivered to another portion thereof maybe allowed to remain where it.,f .a 11s from an apparatus constitutinga; source. of material supply; Other objects andadvantages of, thein vention will hereinafter more fully, appear.

In the accompanying drawings. in whichone illustrative embodiment which my inventionmay assume-in practice isz shown forpurposes of illus-.

tration,

Fig. 1 is. a plan" view. oflamaterial receiving storing and discharging apparatus constructed in accordance with the illustrativeembodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is'a sideelevation ofrthe, structureshown in Fig. 1', showinga portion of the delivery end of anapparatus which furnishes the loads for the material receiving, storing and discharging ape. paratus.

Fig. 3 isa generally-"diagrammatic. view show! ing the invention in. use.

Figs. 4., 5, 6 and '7 are. semi-diagrammaticviews showing the. flight conveyor of the preferred embodiment of the invention. with its portions indifferent relative positions with respect, to its guidesand the loadcarrying bottom. of, the apparatus.

Thepreferred embodiment of the invention is shownincorporatedin an apparatus I- which. is

quite similar in construction, except as hereinafter explained, to a shuttle car. This construction includes a body 2 having a widened material receiving portion 3, and having wheels 4, certain of which may be controllable by a steering wheel 5 in a well known manner, and others. of which, may be, driven,. .as.;. by motors one, of which. is. shown. at" M. also.v in. a Well known manner.

The apparatus l is adapted to move along behind, but in close adjacency to, a Continuous Miner 61sec Fig. 3), and to receive the disintegrated material which the latter discharges. Thiscloseadiaccncy may be maintained by the steering; and propulsion means of the apparatus I, as;s,ho,wn,. or; could be effected by the use of a suitable drawebar or equivalent connection between the Miner and such apparatus. The Continuous Miner 6 may be of various forms, but is shown for purposes of illustration as similar to the structure disclosed I and. claimed, inthe copending application ofv Samuel Leven, Serial No. 19,698,. filed April 8, 19%, which application is, owned, by my assignee. It includes a disintegrating apparatus, l, a driving motor therefor 8, suitable feeding, retracting, laterally position,- ing, and vertically swinging means not all shown in this present case, but fully shown in the application above mentioned, and adapted to, permit the Miner to attack and disint grate the full desired width. of a mineral vein for the full desired height of the latter andto formits own, floor and roof. The Miner has a delivery conveyor 9 at the rear end thereof, and this conveyor is adapted todischarge to theapparatus i (see, 3),

At the end of the body 2, remote from the, I /liner there is shown pivotally connected at it to the body, a discharge section H which [any suitable, means may-behrovided onthe ap paratus i for providing liouidunderpressure for supply to the hydraulic jacks and for venting fluid from these jackswhen lowering of the discharge section is. desired. The provision of a pivoted delivery section. is not essential to, my invention in its broader aspects. The hopper portion of; the body 2 and thedischarge sectionit may be regarded as cumulatively providing a material receiving hopper, since both can be loaded with material in the interval between successive material discharges.

A flexible conveyor It provided with scraper flights it; in a manner hereinafter more fully explained and including flight moving side; chains, it, has anupper run extending throughout thebottom 0; the hopper portion of the body' 2 and throughout the bottom of the discharge section,

l i, any may be employed for delivery of material from the body 2 and for, distributing thematerial in the body during loading thereof. To an.- ply, driving power to the conveyor its side chains were driven by sprockets l6 that are connected to a driven shaft I? at the outer end of the discharge section, power for the drivebeing supplied by a motor I8 which is borne on the body 2 near its end most remote from the Mine r.

The conveyor drive may assume; various, forms, but is.-

herein shown as comprising an articulated shaft 20 which extends from a cross shaft (not shown) driven by the motor I8 to the outer end of the discharge section, the shaft comprising an inner section 2I connected with the motor through a universal coupling 22, and a telescopically arranged outer section 23 connected by a universal coupling 24 to a worm and worm gear conveyor drive 25 for the cross shaft I'I. Themotor I8 is provided with suitable controlling means 25 which maybe manipulated to inch the load along or to eifect its discharge at a relatively uniform, more rapid rate, and drive of the conveyor is also controllable by the manipulation of a drive clutch controlling handle E. The flight carrying chains i5 are guided by sprockets 21 on a cross shaft 28 at the load receiving end of the body 2. It will be noted that the body is located to receive material over an area of a dimension longitudinally of the body equal to a couple or perhaps three of the spaces between flights.

The flights I4 of the flight conveyor are pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the side chains I 5, and are adapted to scrape material along over the bottom of the body 2 and discharge section II. Whenever material is engaged by a flight it will, as the latter moves, be scraped or moved along. Accordingly, since there is a nearly continuous discharge of material, at a rate of upwards of a ton per minute into the body 2 from the discharge conveyor 9, there would be, if the flights were, in uniformly spaced relation, carried by the full lengths of the side chains I5, during the half minute or so required for the complete discharge of the load of material from the apparatus I, half-a-ton or more of material distributed between the point of discharge of the delivery'conveyor 9 and the delivery end of the discharge section I I, and all of this material would be sweptout of the car and onto the mine floor while a new load was being received and dis tributed within the apparatus preliminary to ,discharge to another mine vehicle. I avoid this undesirable result, in the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated, by leaving out a substantialnumber of flights, as, for exampla but without limitation thereto, thirteen flights from a chain which would normally contain thirty-five flights, with the result that there is a blank spot of such length that from a flight, marked A (see Fig. 7) for identification, just passing around the shaft I! there may, in a predetermined position of the flight conveyor, be no following flight clear back to a flight marked 13, spaced on the order of four flightspaces from the shaft 28. This four-flight space substantially brackets the area lengthwise of the conveyor onto which the material will fall and spread from the delivery conveyor 9. With such an arrangement (which may be modified within the scope of my invention from its broader aspects), it will be clear that as the discharge of the load is completed by the flights preceding the flight A and, if necessary, by that flight, there will have been no distribution of material along the discharge section and the body beyond the point occupied by flight B, because of the gap produced by omission of flights, which gap I designate C.

The mode of operation of the invention may be clearly understood from the semi-diagrammatic views of Figs. 4 to '7. The discharge section II is shown in its maximum elevated position. In Fig. 4, the hopper car apparatus I may be considered as being empty, a condition which may be brought about at any time by interrupting the operation of the Continuous Miner with which 6 it is associated for a relatively small, period of time. It will be observed that the portion C of the flight conveyor from which the flights have been removed in this view extends from the end of the body 2 nearer the Continuous Miner to a point near the upper end of the discharge section I I. When the "Continuous Miner now commences to deliver material into the hopper car body 2, it will be allowed to fall to the bottom of the latter, and by appropriate control of conveyor drive by the conveyor driving motor, the load will be distributed along the length of the body 2, until the body is loaded as indicated in Fig. 5. Not over two minutes will probably be required, at a maximum, to load the body 2 fully. In Fig. 6, the flight conveyor has been utilized to discharge aportion of the load and the remainder still rests in the discharge section. Some material has been falling into the right hand end of the apparatus, but this is simply piling up on the bottom at that end. In Fig. 7 the load has been fully discharged, and the flight B and three other flights are shown as having moved under the pile of material that fell into the right hand end of the body during discharge of the load, but from the flight B all the way forward to flight A, the presence of the gap C has prevented the spreading of a layer of material over the bottom of the apparatus which would be dumped on the mine floor in the interval between the leaving of one transport vehicle and the arrival of the next, during which interval a load will be received and distributed within the apparatus.

Reverting to 3, it will be seen that the discharge 9 is delivering to the apparatus I, and that a shuttle car is positioned with its load receiving end under the end of the discharge section, and, having in mind the characteristic of shuttle cars that these may be loaded comparatively rapidly by moving the conveyors which extend along their bottoms at an appropriate rate, it will be noted that, if the shuttle car and the hopper car are of similar capacity and construction, by operating their conveyors at like rates and continuously, there may be a complete unloading of the hopper car and fillingof the shuttle car in a time interval on the order of 30 to 35 seconds, sayyand Fig. 7 illustrates the position assumed by the flight conveyor of the hopper car at the time when one load has been completely discharged. If, as earlier noted, during the period of discharge the flight conveyor had had flights uniformly spaced over its full length, that is, throughout its full orbital length, there would have been distributed over the bottom of the car from the point of discharge thereto of the Continuous Miner clear up to the end of the discharge section a layer of distintegrated material, perhaps only a few inches thick, but all of this material would be dumped on the ground as the flight conveyor would be operated during the reception of a full load by the car and the movement of the conveyor again to a position corresponding to that of Fig. 7. However, because of the omission of the flights in the manner and to the extent disclosed, there will have been no distribution of the material which is dumped into the bottom of the car, along the major portion of the length of the body and along the discharge end, as the material is moved out by the flights which are disposed ahead of the flight marked A. Accordingly, at the conclusion of the relatively rapid discharge movement of the flight conveyor, there may be accumulated a new full load in the hopper car, without spillage, or any necessity for amp-a1 7 shovelingat; discharge. emi. or. the: discharge s'ectioulinzthe interval betweentlie lee-lung ofione shuttle. car and the. returning, perhaps minutes zilit'erwanh, of anothershuttl'ez car;

'Tneinventlon' is simple, highly eiiectlvaruegecl, involves in". a preferred. emboo of. departure: fro 21'. standard devices, and enables the meeting of. the problem of material. handling preteen ed by the Continuous. I effective manner. It. will be evident that. this apparatus will also find potential utility in connection: with loading machines,

do there is ithis applicaticrl specifically described one formwhich the'invention may as "stein p ac '"e,.it iv'il be understood that th s is for purposes of if b the; invention may be modified in val-2' us forms without depar spirit or the scope of the appended secure by out of the for receivin 1 21. an n r a discharge jt'its inner end to said body or 1 vxlrch dis portion stored" matcrial is to be :ged, an endless fi -1t conveyor h" an upper run extending" thr body c. ,eportion, for (In baiting material body in latter and for clf- 'dischargc or" mater from said body and clrivinr: circulation means for thereof, the improvement which consists in said conveyorfor effect:

flights throughout but a portion of ii in a predetermined position thereof, l said body and said discharge portion, has its upper run flights only Ea-cent the end or said discharge portion and adjacent the one; of the body remote from the cl char-4e portion, but elsewhere along its circuit is provided with flights.

2. In an apparatus of the character incl no a body for receiving and storing material and hav a discharge portion connected its inner or to said body and through which discarge portion stored material. is adapted to d, a continuous flexible flight con- -ng an upper run extending through out the bottom of the body and of said'olischarge' portion, driving means for said conveyor for moving the intermittently to distribute inaal delivered to said. body therein and for moving said conveyor continuously to effect discharge of material from said body through said discharge portion, the improvement which conin that the conveyor is eouipperl' with flights save for a portion thereof equal to the combined length of body and said discharge portion, Su the part of the length of said body at one end thereof to which material be delivered cii rectly, but is devoid of flights along such portion whereby the conveyor isa-ble to unload completely material stored in said body without distributing over the length of the bottom of said body material which may be delivered to the end thereof remote from said discharge portion during discharce of the load.

3. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, including a body to receive and store material, said body having at one end thereof a materialrcceiving portion, a discharge portiouhaving an outer discharge end and pivotally'connected at.

8 ta'saidbody; atthe endctthelatter away: from said. material-receiving: portion, for vertical. adjustment of: its; discharge end. through a substantial. are, a. continuous flexible flight conveyor: having an: upper run extendingthroughoutthebottorcs of said body and cream discharge .p'or'tion', and driving means. for said conveyor, the improvement which consists. in that said conveyor, though otherwise equipped with flights, has, in a predetermined position thereofrelative to said body and said discharge portion, no flights from a point in said bodywithin the material-receiving portion thereof to a pointin said discharge portion adjacent the discharge end of the m tten-whereby said conveyor shall. be able to" unload completely material stored in said'bodywithout distributing over the" lengtliof thebottom'cf said body material which may be'delivered to the end thereof remote from Said discharge portion during discharge of the load.

4. In an apparatus for receiving and storing a quantity of disintegrated material and for-perioclically discharging the. stored. material to a mine transport vehicle, in. a period shorter than the time consumed in the receiving and storing of a load, in combination, a portablehopper having a bottom and of sufllcient capacity to receive and store a quantity of material sufficient to load a mine transport vehicle adapted to receive a load from it, and means for distributing material within the hopper during loading of the latter and for moving the load out of the hopper including an orbit-ally moving flight conveyor hav-'- ing drive and guide means at its opposite ends chain flight moving means passing in. a closed orbit around said drive and guide means and including uppeand lower runs, the former extending through said hopper and traversingthe bottom of hopper and the latter moving outside of' said hopper, said conveyor equipped with flights along a portion thereof equal in length to the. extent of said lower run plus but a smallportion of the extent of said upper run;

5;. In an apparatus for accumulating a quantity of disintegrated material and for delivering the accumulated material periodically, in a time period materially shorter than the period taken for its accumulation, to a mine transport vehicle, in combination, a hopper having a bottom por-- tion and of sul'licient capacity to receive and store a quantity of material sumcient to load a mine transport vehicle adapted to receive a load from it, and means for distributing material Within the hopper during loading of the latter and for moving the load out of the hoppervvithout spreading a thin layer of material between the point of material reception and the point of material discharge including an orbitally movflight conveyor having an upper run passing through the bottom portion of'said hopper and having mutually spaced flights distributed over the major portion of its length but with no flights for a distance equal to several flight-spacings,

6. In an apparatus for receiving a load from a vein disintegrating apparatus and. delivering it periodically to shuttle cars, a material transfer device including a hopper having sufiicient capacity to receive and store a load for a shuttle car, means for maintaining said hopper in load receiving relation to a vein disintegrating apparatus, and means for discharging a load from said hopper to a shuttle car While preventing the distribution of disintegrated material received. at the otherv end. of the hopper over the bottom 9 of said hopper during the unloading thereof, said last mentioned means including a conveyor having, following each other through said hopper, a portion provided with flights and another portion having no flights over a distance only slightly less than the length of said hopper.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a body for receiving and storing material positionable to receive material from a vein attacking apparatus and having adjacent one end thereof a portion upon which such material is receivable and having at its other end a discharge end portion for delivering material to a mine transport vehicle, a continuous flexible flight conveyor having an upper run extending throughout the bottom of said body and of said discharge end portion, and driving means for said conveyor, said conveyor having a portion thereof free of flights extending, in a predetermined relation of said conveyor tosaid body, from said discharge end back to said material receiving portion.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a body for receiving and storing material and adapted to receive material at one end thereof for distribution and storage therein and having a discharge portion from which stored material is adapted to be delivered, flexible flight moving means extending in a closed orbit from the first mentioned end of said body through said body and'through said discharge portion and back to the first mentioned end of said body, means for driving said flexible flight moving means, and material engaging and moving elements connected to said flexible flight moving means for movement thereby and distributed over but slightly more than half of the whole overall length thereof.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a body for receiving and storing material and adapted to receive at one end thereof material for distribution and storage therein and having at its other end a discharge portion for the delivery of stored material, continuous flexible flight moving means extending in a closed orbit from the first mentioned end of the body through the latter and through said discharge portion and back to the first mentioned end of the body, means for driving said flexible flight moving means, and a plurality of material engaging and moving elements connected to the said flexible flight moving means for movement thereby, said flexible flight moving means having no material engaging and moving elements connected thereto for a distance substantially equal to half the length thereof minus the distance at the receiving end of said body upon which material is received, whereby said body if) can be cleared of a load of material while further material is received thereon without substantial action of said material engaging and moving elements upon such further material.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a body for receiving and storing material and having at one end thereof an area for receiving material and having at its other end a discharge portion for delivering material to a mine transport vehicle, a continuous flexible flight conveyor having an upper run extending through the bottom of said body and through said discharge portion, and driving means for said conveyor for moving the same intermittently to distribute material delivered to said area of the body in the latter and for moving said conveyor continuously to effect discharge of material from said body via said discharge portion, said conveyor having flights along a portion thereof and having another portion without flights thereon, said latter portion of such length that the trailing flight of said first portion completes its material discharge effecting function before the leadin flight in said portion moves beyond the end of said material receiving area which is nearer said discharge end, whereby the conveyor is able to unload completely material stored in said body without distributing over the length of the body material which may be delivered to the material-receiving end of the latter during discharge of a load.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a body for receiving and storing material, said body having a bottom upon which material rests and being adapted to receive at one end thereof material for distribution and storing therein and to discharge stored material at the other end thereof, and means for distributing material in' said body and discharging it therefrom including an orbitally movable material-moving device comprising two portions, one slightly longer than the other and only that one equipped with material-moving means, and each of said portions connected with the other at its opposite ends whereby a continuous loop is formed, and means for circulating such device with a run thereof passing through said body, in adjacency to said bottom, from said one end to the other.

ARTHUR LEE BARRETT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,326,444 Dudley Aug. 10, 1943 2,387,220 Wehle Oct. 16. 1945 

